A second quarter that could be described as great for one team and terrible for the other was the difference, as the Annandale Atoms won 49-33 over the West Potomac Wolverines.
Senior shooting forward Kelly Hughes stepped up for the Atoms, leading all scorers with 14 points, while leading scorer junior Jackie Bethea was hampered by foul trouble and scored only eight, her lowest output of the season.
Sophomore Diana Hurtado also poured in eight points.
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“We really worked the ball around and we ran through our offense,” Hughes said. “That way I was able to get more opportunities in the first and fourth quarters than in the second and third.”
The Wolverines didn’t have a scorer in double-figures, with senior Alexandra Jones leading the way with nine points, while freshman Resheika Gregory scored eight.
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After a fairly even first quarter that ended with Annandale leading 15-11, the Atoms went on a run in the second quarter, and the defense clamped down only allowing a basket by sophomore point guard Tayla Dawson in the entire quarter. The Atoms used this strong quarter to build a 27-13 lead at halftime.
“They needed to just calm down a notch,” said Annandale Coach Patrick Hughes, “Once we got the ball moving, things began to really open up for us and we got some good looks.”
After taking the floor for the third quarter, the Wolverines got within 10 points, but a few costly turnovers and missed shots stemmed a run. The Atoms had a 36-23 lead going into the fourth quarter.
West Potomac’s senior shooting guard Jones scored six points in the quarter to attempt a comeback, but an additional five points by Hurtado kept the game out of reach for the Wolverines.
The fourth quarter was much of the same as the teams tended to trade baskets, and the Wolverines could not get the deficit down to single digits.
With this win, the Atoms have to prepare quickly for a showdown with Woodson on Monday night.
“We don’t have a lot of time to prepare for this game,” Hughes said. “We have to hope that we’ll be allowed to practice on Saturday because of the potential weather.”
